Electronic Drum Sets

Every once in a while I will run into parents or friends who have gotten their kids electronic drum sets.  For kids and non-professionals this can be a very good decision.  This is because electronic drum sets do have their advantages.  First of all, electronic drum sets don't take up as much space.  If you look at the features that are on even the cheap electronic drum sets they usually include things like a headphone jack for silent practice, dozens of drum sounds, built in cymbals, and built in metronomes.  For these reasons electronic drum sets can be a good investment.

For gigging drummers electronic drum sets have a few drawbacks; especially the cheap electronic drum sets.  The biggest drawback is that electronic drum sets wear out.  Electronic drum sets are made of drum pads that have electronic sensors in them which transfer signals to the “brain” when the pads are hit.  The electronic sensors in the pads are typically made from small, thin sheets of metal or plastic, which have wires soldered to them.  Since these drum pads are being constantly hit, the sensors tend to weaken, and the solder points break.  A couple of the other draw backs to electronic drum sets are that on the cheaper ones the bass drum pads are so small the move around too easily.  Also, if you don’t want to play through headphones then you need an amplifier for them.

For those of you who are still considering electronic drum sets, Roland and Yamaha electronic drums sets are generally considered to be the best choice if you want to use them for gigs because they will last.  An adequate electronic drum set will start at about $1000 dollars.  If you are looking at electronic drum sets as to serve as a practice drum set then there are alternatives for between $500 and $1000.  Alesis, Yamaha, and Simmons are making some decent electronic drum sets that are in the 500 to 800 dollar range.  Anything that regularly sells for less than $500 is probably  not even going to last very long and it will be difficult to position the pads correctly.  

Electronic drum sets have come a long way since they were first used in the mid 1970’s, but the technology is still more expensive than acoustic drums.  For drummers who are limited in space, and need silent practice electronic drums are good solution; however if your budget is less than $500 you might consider getting a practice pad drum set.